Friday, March 26, 2010

22nd June: My inlaws, bil's family, uncle's family and us set off on a late night coach from Singapore to Genting and reached our destination at around 7plus in the morning. I still recall Denver snuggling in my arms sleeping throughout the entire ride while I try to catch a wink.

Weather at Genting Highlands is always cooling as if you are in an air-condition room or even colder. Unlike the Hot and Sunny weather we have in Singapore. This time, we'll be staying at First World Hotel and we waited at the Lobby to 'park' our luggages.

Breakfast at MacDonald

11:00am : After checking in to our room, we took the cable car ride down for some horse riding!

2:00pm : Highland Mushroom Farm is nearby and within it, there is a Chinese resturant serving cheap and good dishes. Apparently, they also provide van pick up service (2 way trips) to and from your hotel in Genting for free! It takes about 5-10mins to reach and there is a number to call that you can call to arrange the time and they will pick you up. I still recall the van plate number is 9100. ^_^ This really gives the tourists another dining and touring opportunity apart from the resorts, casinos and themepark.

Evening: Heading back to the resort and touring around the shops. As if Genting is not cold enough, we went to the Snow World to experience some flakes of "Snow". It's very cold inside and we have to put on the coats, shoes and gloves before entering.

23rd March: Breakfast at MacDonalds again! :p Kids love them and it's the easiest to fill our tummy before going to play with the rides in the Indoor Themepark.

Many many rides for us to hop on. The only challenging part is queuing for our turn.

Lunch @ a resturant

4:oopm : Quick dip in the Indoor swimming pool! (Hands are full with looking after Denver and hence did not take photos inside the pool area.)

24th March: Waking up to a COLD morning. Our final day here!

10:00am : Visiting Chin Swee Caves Temple (清水岩庙) before taking the coach back to Singapore. It is a Taoist temple located about 10 minutes drive from the mountain. You can see a very senic view of Genting Highlands and there is statues of the Buddha and Kuan-yin. Along the sides is a row of handiwork crafted with ancient chinese traditions.

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Hubby woke up really early to prepare the things needed for today's excursion! We arrived early and the bus came to pick us on time too. There are about 42 of us joining the Educational Tour. Some children came alone, some tag along with their maids while others had their grandmothers or mommies with them. Hubby is the only Father and Male joining this tour! Hmmm.. is it really true that there is a lack of participation from Daddies??

Ms Ho (Denver's teacher) gave us some riddles (谜语) along the way to the Hort Park. Little prizes - pens are given away for the right answers. That kept all of us entertained throughout the bus journey.

We gathered at the Hort Park entrance to start our morning walk. It's not easy to bring a bunch of young children. Ms Ho have some volunteers to will help look after the children whom parents did not come along. Hubby has been really helpful with carrying the stuff since he is the only MAN there. He is always so thoughtful and kind. ^_^

We pop by the Vegetable and Herb & Spice Garden to let the children have a look at some of the plants. (e.g. Chilli, Curry Leaves, Mango tree etc).

Walking further down is the Butterfly garden but it is closed and only open on Saturdays. Still you can spot many butterflies and bees around the park.

We stopped at one of the shelter to take a short break and rest. Unfortunately, just as we are about to leave, it started to RAIN!!! :( Heavy downpour and we are stuck. Ms Ho decided to let the kids have some games while waiting for the rain to stop.

Children are really adaptable and mix along well very fast. Even though they may not know each other, they make friends easily and are able to get together to get things done. TEAMWORK!

They played the number game and had fun with the bubbles. So FUN! After all the running and excitement, it's time to EAT! We had our 'Picnic' inside the shelter. One of the children asked... "Teacher, Picnic is like that one meh?" Hahaha.. Ms Ho replied picnic is taking a light meal outside during an excursion and this basically means bread! ^_^ We also brought our own sandwiches, hotdogs and eggs and we finished them all. Denver and Gladys had a 2nd helping with the bread and peanut butter spread Ms Ho brought.

It was still raining, we had our group photo and the kids always have idea on what to do to keep them entertained!

Ms Ho initially had plans to take us see the "Dancing" plant. She said it will move when it hears music. Unfortunately, the plant has been removed from the flower bed and no longer can be found in Hort Park. :( We were kind of disappointed.

So, we head on to the Asian Civilisations Museum. It is our first visit to a museum and I don't know what to expect. :p The children grabbed their activity booklet and we start our tour. There are really a lot to see and it will take you a couple of hours at least if you were to stop and explain to the children on every exhibit.

There are also stations with interactive activities along the way for the children to explore. Stamping station, Colouring etc... I hope they had fun..

Denver commented that he feels the Museum is scary. I believe this is because of the exhibits and partly also due to the lightings within which is dimmer.

Before leaving, we stopped by the museum shop and I bought Denver a mini chess set. Denver has been learning and playing english chess with Royston and hence he was keen of getting one. It has been an eye opener to see so many precious stones, jewelery, scultures etc. :)

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Hubby has been staying in Punggol since he was born and so he has fond memories with the area around here from the older days till now. Earlier, we went to Punggol End after dinner for a little walk. The signboard indicates "Punggol Beach - World War II Site". I understand many innocent people were shot dead by the beach during the Japanese operation. Currently, it has become a fishing spot and where families bring their children to play with the sand. Some simply just come to sit around, watching other people fishes while enjoying the sea breeze.

We saw people brought their own baits and sat by the jetty fishing. Denver wanted to fish too out of curiosity and simply for fun. At the right side of the beach, a couple of children are building their sandcastles with their parents. On the left side, we spotted a man casting his net out to catch fish. We brought the kids down to the beach and saw that he has caught a couple of small crabs. :) He let it go since they are too small and apparently, the man already caught some fishes and a big Grouper earlier! This is definitely not something that the children get to see everyday and they are excited!

Jasper was very brave to pick one of the crab up! :) Apart from the crabs, we also spotted a snake by the sea and Hubby spotted a bird nest under the bridge. It may be a very small beach with dark, dirty waters, there are so many things you can find. So keep your eyes open and be attentive to the surrounding when you visit Punggol Beach next time. :)

Improvement works is currently undergoing to rejuvenate Punggol Beach and it will be expected to complete by 1st Quarter 2011. I'm sure it will be a very different sight once this is complete. For now, just enjoy it's simplicity as it is.